John Lewis, dies at 80

John Lewis, a representative personality who was the son of sharecroppers and an evangelist of peace was bloodied at Selma and across the Jim Crow South in the historic effort for racial equality. The person, who carried the onus moral authority into congress died on Friday at the age of 80. 

Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House of Representatives, confirmed his death in a statement. 

Mr. Lewis who was a Georgia Democrat declared on 29th December, that he had been suffering from Stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer. He was such a gallant man that even in this stage, with full determination affirmed his fight against it with the same passion with which he had fought the racial injustice. 

He uttered violently regarding this, “I have been in some kind of fight for freedom, equality, basic human rights–for nearly my entire life.”

Mr. Lewis was a gallant stalwart of the civil rights movement and the last holding on speaker from the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963. 

A bold-view of Lewis’s struggles: 

Covering more 50 years, after the killing of George Floyd in May, a black man who was in Police Custody in Minneapolis, Mr. Lewis greeted the upcoming worldly demonstrations against the police killing of Black People. In a wide view, he also welcomed the demonstrations against systemic racism in several corners of society. He perceived those protests as a continuation of his life’s work instead of his severe illness. 

Mr. Lewis talked to “CBS This Morning” in June; “It was very moving, very moving to see hundreds of thousands of people from all over America and around the world take to the streets to speak up, to speak out, to indulge into what I call “good trouble”. 

The death of Mr. Lewis and The Rev. C.T. Vivian on the same day:

He died on the same day as did the “The Rev. C.T. Vivian” a close companion of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He was among the devoted 13 Freedom Riders, the Black and White reformers who confronted the partitioned interstate travel in the South in 1961. 

Mr. Lewis headed many demonstrations against racially divided restrooms, hotels, restaurants, Public Parks, and swimming pools. He also raised his voice against the other humilities of second-class citizenship. He was really tortured at every step he lifted either by being beaten, burned with cigarettes, and spat upon. He was also crucified by white mobs and absorbed body blows from law enforcement.  

“The Conscience of Congress”:

While representing Atlanta, the natural consistency of Mr. Lewis was the disadvantaged people everywhere. He was called “The Conscience of Justice” by his colleagues due to his bolded support to pursuit justice rather than sponsoring major legislations.

One thing that is worthy to be elaborated occurred when the House voted in December 2019 to challenge President Trump, Mr. Lewis’s voice raised above the all. He stated on the House floor, “When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something. Our children and their children will question us, ‘what did you do? What did you say?’ For some, this vote may be hard but we have a mission and the mandate to be on the right side of the history.”

Mr. Lewis, a valiant and roaring personality:

Mr. Lewis was a famous speaker at the college commencements and always proposed the same advice–that the graduates get into “good trouble” as did against the wishes of his parents. 

Mr. Lewis said in 2017 that “Our struggle is not the struggle of the day, a week, a month, or a year. It is the struggle of the lifetime.” He stated these lines on Twitter in 2018. Concluding, a great mandate of justice, Mr. Lewis has been taken from us. May his soul rest in peace!